Thursday, May 30, 2013

Kinda good and not so good report after seeing my eye specialist a couple days ago.

Good - my vision has improved a bit more from last week; last week it was 20/250 AND this week it is between 20/100 and 20/150.Not so good - I kinda knew this but I was hoping it might have changed; my specialist could not say whether or not my vision would improve or how much more if it did - he was hopeful it would.Also not so good - my specialist still has a couple more procedures to try if needed HOWEVER they are around a minimum of 3 months away.

Now since I am not working that means no income - I have money for dog food and some treats but that is about it and current bills are taken care of for the next few months but any possible additional expenses will have to be avoided. And the issue of disability retirement is still a possibility altho I REALLY don't want that - not so much due to my visual acuity but because my vision can change substantially within a few hours.

Otherwise, we are doing fine - the Beaglebratz had a rousing game of tussle in the livingroom earlier this evening which I ALWAYS love to watch. And last evening, my nephew was over and removed an old ugly bush in the backyard - some of the brush is stacked up against the fence which gives the Beaglebratz another place to search for critters. Shiloh still lets me know when I am at the computer and he "needs" to be fed and as you saw in a pic from yesterday, Diva Shasta is still carrying her toy as she trots around the house (indoors) to let me know she NEEDS outside, NOW! Since our weather is trying to decide (for the 3rd or 4th straight nite) whether or not to storm and cut power, I think I will go while the gettin'is good.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Ok - so the appt was yesterday but I am reporting on it today so that is why it is Thankful Thursday. So at this appt. with my specialist yesterday there WAS
a bit more improvement in my vision and the doc is optimistic the improvement WILL
continue but right at his moment, it is still not good enough to return to work. However the issue of disability retirement is still a
possibility altho hopefully I will be able to return to work for at
least a few months to get some bills paid off. The issue of disability
retirement is not so much related directly to my vision altho that is a
big problem but rather the overall health of my eye which is what leads
to my vision problems - if my eye was healthier then there would be
fewer or no vision problems - I would not have missed 15+ months of work
out of the past 39 months - I would not have had two cornea transplants and two stem cell transplants - each time something like this is done to the eye there is more trauma to the eye even tho it is for a good reason. However, more trauma means the eye becomes LESS & LESS HEALTHY which would mean more transplants - more trauma - vicious circle. Also the possibility of using my own stem
cells from my left eye which is totally healthy except I can't see out
of it, is still a possibility however that would be several months away.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Had appt. a couple days ago with specialist again. So, this latest stem cell transplant started way bak on 3/26 - the doc said it would be improved in a couple weeks - well I need to remember that when he initially gives me a time span like that then he is referring to what a person with NORMAL eye health could expect. My eye health - at least on the right - has not been normal since 1976.

So, this past Tuesday appt. my specialist decided that by now, any improvement brought on by the stem cell transplant, should well be complete by now however the transplant had still not dissolved completely as it should have so he decided to remove as much of it as he could - it wasn't really doing any good now but it wasn't really causing any problems which it could eventually and it was kinda making what vision I had a little cloudy. Removing it did cause a small defect (skin tear) on the cornea so he placed one of those bandage contact lens on to protect the eye. Ok - so now it is a bit more than two days after that - do I see any improvement - YESSSS!!!!!!!!!So it is not a big improvement HOWEVER I will take it! At least now when I look out to the back fence and see one of the B-bratz, I can usually tell whether it is Shiloh or Diva Shasta and not just a black blob. Next appt. with specialist is next Wednesday the 22nd and then the following Tuesday the 28th - sure it runs up the medical expense but I like them close since problems can come up so quikly.

Now some random pics of the Beaglebratz - you may have seen these and I do have new just have not been able to upload them yet.

I love this next picture - that look that Shiloh is giving Diva Shasta is priceless.

Maybe this picture of Shiloh was taken before his counter-surfing days began; notice the fresh baked cookies on the counter and a sleeping Shiloh on the floor.

Diva Shasta meeting a couple adoring fans at one of our shopping malls.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Well not much going on here. Still not back at work and still not reading regular size print on paper or computer. About a week ago had a small setback after vision had improved to 20/80 on Tuesday (week before this past week) but then bby Friday it had worsened to 20/400. After a quik change in the kind of anti-rejection eyedrop I use, I was beginning to notice an improvement by late evening the same day. When I saw my specialist this past Monday, vision had improved back to 20/150. My next appointment is this Tuesday with my specialist. I will try to post an update.

Shiloh'n Diva Shasta are doing well. Diva Shasta wanted to make sure I knew just how important to her and Shiloh I am - sometimes bringing me her pink elephant reindeer bo-bo to play tug with or to remind me to let her and Shiloh out on a regular schedule (like every ten minutes - yep, I could just feel that love overflowing)

Ok, need to stop for now and get the B-bratz out so we can get to bed. Hope everyone is doing well and hope all the mom's of 2 and 4 leggers had a Happy Mother's Day. Be bak when we can.